Registration method and frame



Aug. 30, 1966 o. s. PORTER REGISTRATION METHOD AND FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 30, 1963 i7fl INVENTOR. BY 7' AT IORNEY Aug. 30, 1966 o. s. PORTER 3,269,261

REGISTRATION METHOD AND FRAME Filed Sept. so, 1963 2 sheets-sheet 2 72 I BY l s 7 ATJvHIY-EY United States Patent REGISTRATION METHOD AND FRAME Oscar S. Porter, Kinnelon Borough, N .J assignor to Porter & (30., Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 312,689 Claims. (Cl. 88-24) This invention relates particularly to apparatus for supporting and registering sheets, particularly transparent sheets or plates that are used in a projector for projecting images onto a screen or board in connection with lectures, speeches, sales promotional work and educational work, and the like.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method and apparatus for supporting and producing accurate registration of plates or sheets, particularly transparent sheets, whereby, for example, a plurality of transparent sheets bearing complemental images may be accurately registered in proper relation to each other with a minimum need for care and skill of the operator.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved plate or sheet so constructed that sheets may be made by different manufacturers and registration thereof insured in any plurality of frames or supports.

It is another object to provide a method and apparatus of the character described which shall include novel and improved means for mounting one sheet, such as a mask sheet, for accurate sliding relative to other transparent sheets in a stack to progressively expose portions of other sheets that are above or below the mask sheet in the stack.

Other objects are to provide a simple and inexpensive registration frame having novel and improved registering guides projecting from the upper surface thereof for supporting sheets that have edge portions coactive with said guides for registering the sheets; to provide such a frame embodying a novel and improved construction permitting the sheets to be slid in the frame relative to each other without removal of the sheets from the frame; and to obtain other advantages and results that will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a known type of projector having a sheet supporting and registering apparatus embodying the invention including a frame set in normal projecting position on the platform or stage of the projector;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged top plan View of the frame or support for the sheets or plates;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view on the plane of the line 44- of FIGURE 2 and showing a portion of the projector stage in broken lines and also showing sheets or plates in projecting position in the frame;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional View on the plane of the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of one of the transparent sheets to be supported and registered in the frame; and

FIGURE 7 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the frame or support having mounted therein at least one transparent sheet and a mask sheet and showing the manner of sliding the mask sheet to progressively expose the transparent sheet.

As hereinbefore pointed out, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for supportnig and registering sheets or plates in a projection apparatus, although the method and apparatus for registering the sheets may be used for other purposes, for example in obtaining registra- 3,269,261 Patented August 30, 1966 tion of photographic sheets that are used in color reproduction operations.

For illustrating the principles of the invention, a conventional projectionapparatus is shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings and comprises, as usual, a base portion A the top wall B of which provides a platform that has a transparency or opening C over which is separably arranged the supporting and registering apparatus D of the invention. Beneath the top wall of the base is arranged a projection lamp and a mirror for projecting light upwardly through the opening C, through the sheets in-the registration apparatus D and through a projection lens onto another mirror sloping in an upwardly and rearwardly direction fixedly positioned above and spaced from the top wall or platform of the base and the lens. With this arrangement, light from the lamp that is projected upwardly through the sheets in the supporting and registering apparatus is reflected from the last-mentioned mirror onto a vertically disposed viewing screen.

The sheet supporting and registering apparatus includes a frame or support 1 that is generally rectangular in plan and has a top edge 2, a bottom edge 3 parallel to :the top edge and side edges 4 and 5 parallel to each other and perpendicular to the top and bottom edges. The frame has a guide rail 6 along the top edge thereof and also has guide rails 7 and 8 along the respective edges 4 and 5. There is no rail along the bottom edge 3, but in place thereof is a rectangular boss 12 disposed approximately midway between the rails 7 and 8. The inner face 9 of the rail is perpendicular to the inner faces 10 and 11 respectively of the rails 7 and 8; and the inner face 13 of the boss is approximately parallel to the face 9 of the rail 6 and in a plane perpendicular to the faces 10 and 11 of the rails 7 and 8. The faces 19 and 11 of the rails 7 and 8 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the sheets or plates to be mounted in the frame, one of which is shown in FIGURE 6 and designated 14. In other words, the distance between the faces 10 and 11 is slightly greater than the distance between the side edges 15 and 16 of the sheet 14. The distance between the face 9 of the rail 6 and the face 13 of the boss 12 is slightly greater than the length of the sheet 14, that is slightly greater than the distance between the top edge 17 and the bottom edge 18 of said sheet. With this. arrangement, the sheet 14 can be easily dropped into the frame with its edges in slidably abutting contact with the respective faces of the guide rails and boss.

For supporting the sheets in the frame, a flange 19 is provided on the frame and has portions projecting inwardly from the respective faces 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the guide rails and boss, said portions of the flange forming and bounding a rectangular opening 20 for the passage therethrough of light emanating, for example, from the opening C in the projector stage.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of means for preventing the sheets from being placed in the frame in the wrong position, for example, to prevent the sheets from being mounted with the Wrong side edges abutting the side rails 7 and 8 or mounted with the top edge of the sheet located at the bottom edge of the frame. As shown, .a pair of registration lugs 21 and 22 extend inwardly from the face of one rail, preferably the face 9 of the top guide rail 6, the said lugs being spaced apart longitudinally of the rail and being spaced different distances from the faces 10 and 11 of the corresponding or nearer side rails. For example, the lug 21 is disposed farther from the face 11 of the rail 8 than is the lug 22 from the face 10 of the rail 7. Preferably each of the lugs 21 and 22 has beveled faces 23 that are disposed at an angle 45 to each other and to the face 9 of the rail 6, and these beveled faces 23 project upwardly from the flange 19. The sheet 14 has V-shaped notches 24 and 25 in one edge, preferably its top edge 17, the edges of each of the notches being of the same length and shape as the faces 23 of the lugs 21 and 22. The notches are spaced apart the same distances as the lugs 21 and 22 and are also spaced the same distances from the corresponding or nearer edges 15 and 16 of the sheets as are the lugs 21 and 22 from the corresponding or nearer faces 10 and 11 of the rails 7 and 8.

As is known to those skilled in the art, when the sheets 14 are transparent, they carry on a certain area thereof, corresponding roughly to the area of the opening of the frame indicated by the line 26 in FIGURE 6, some illustration or indicia represented here by the map of the United States generally designated 27. A plurality of the transparencies or sheets may be disposed in superposed or stacked relation on the flange 19 of the frame as shown in FIGURE 4. For example, the sheets may be transparent and one thereof may have a basic map of the United States while another may have the outlines of the States of the United States, and still another may have representations of rivers and mountains. The notches in the sheets coact with the lugs 21 and 22, and the face 9, 10 and 11 of the guide rails and the face 13 of the boss coact with the corresponding edges 17, 15, 16 and 18 to insure that the sheets shall be mounted in accurately registered relation to each other and to the frame.

In many cases it is desirable to provide a mask sheet to progressively expose the indicia or representations on a transparent sheet in the frame. In FIGURE 7 the frame is shown with a transparent sheet 14a therein having a plurality of rows of indicia 28 that are normally concealed or covered by a mask sheet 29 which is slidably mounted between the faces 10 and 11 of the side rails 7 and 8, whereby the mask sheet can be slid in the frame step by step to progressively expose the lines of indicia 28. It will be understood that the mask sheet rests upon and slides over the boss 12, and an extended support is provided for the mask sheet as it is slid beyond the bottom edge 3 of the frame. An arm 30 is piv-otally mounted at one end at 31 on the frame so that normally the arm may lie in an out'of-the-way position in superposed relation to the frame and inside the bottom edge of the frame, as shown in FIGURE 2, but when desired can be swung outwardly into angular relation to the bottom edge of the frame as shown in FIGURE 7 to support the portion of the mask sheet that projects beyond the frame.

To facilitate removal of the sheets from the frame, a plurality of finger holes 32 are provided in the frame to be overlaid by the bottom edge portions of the sheets 14 so that by inserting a finger or instrument through the hole 32-from the upper side of the frame, the edge portions of the sheets may be lifted clear of the boss 12 and gripped between the thumb and index finger of the operator for removal of the sheets from the frame.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the frame may be made of any suitable material and in any suitable way but is preferably molded of a single piece of a synthetic plastic material.

It will be observed that the construction makes it possible for a relatively unskilled person to easily and quickly mount the sheets in proper registration with each other with a minimum of care on the part of the person. The beveled sides of the registration lu-gs coacting with the correspondingly angularly related sides of the notches in the sheets, make it easy to properly engage the lugs with the notches eliminating, for example, the trouble and care that is required in endeav-oring to insert pins on the frame through holes in the sheets when utilizing some of the known registration apparatus.

Any suitable means may be provided for securing the frame in position on the stage B or other support, but as shown I have provided pieces 33 of adhesive tape that have pressure sensitive adhesive on both sides thereof,

one side of each of the pieces being adhesively secured to the bottom surface of the frame and the other side of the piece being adhesively attached to the top surface of the stage B as schematically illustrated in FIGURE 4. The stage may have the usual projection guide strip 34 to facilitate initial location of the frame 1 on the stage in proper registration with the opening C in the stage.

While the now preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that modifications and changes in the construction of the frame and the sheets 14 and in the shape of the rails and registering lugs, may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a photographic projector of the type including a platform having a rectangular light transmitting opening therethrough, a frame for supporting and registering flat transparent rectangular sheets over said opening, said frame being rectangular and having a rectangular opening to register with said opening in said platform and bordered by a flange to support such sheets, a plurality of sheets set on said flange in overlying relation to said opening in the frame, each of which sheets has top and bottom parallel edges and parallel side edges perpendicular to said top and bottom edges and also has a plurality of notches in one edge spaced differently from the corresponding edges that are perpendicular to said one edge, said frame also having guide elements thereon spaced from the edges of said opening in the frame each to abut one end of said sheet, one of said guide elements comprising a plurality of lugs spaced from each other along one edge of the opening in the frame a distance corresponding to the distance between said notches in the sheet, each to engage one of said notches for registering the sheets right side up with said opening in the frame.

2. For use in combination with a platform having a rectangular light transmitting opening therethrough, a frame for supporting and registering flat transparent rectangular sheets over said opening each of which sheets has top and bottom parallel edges and parallel side edges perpendicular to said top and bottom edges and also has a plurality of notches in one edge spaced differently from the corresponding edges that are perpendicular to said one edge, said frame being rectangular and having a rectangular opening to register with said opening in said platform and bordered by a flange to support said sheet, said frame also having guide elements thereon spaced from the edges of said opening in the frame each to abut one edge of said sheet, one of said guide elements comprising a plurality of lugs spaced from each other along one edge of the opening in the frame a distance corresponding to the distance between said notches in the sheet each for engagement with one of said notches, at least one of said notches having converging sides and at least one of said lugs having correspondingly converging side surfaces for accurately registering said sheet right side up with said opening in the frame.

3. In a photographic projector of the type including a platform having a rectangular light transmitting opening therethrough as defined in claim 1, the guide elements for the side edges of the sheet being rails and the g ui le element for the bottom edge of the sheet being a boss disposed approximately midway between said guide elements for the side edges of the sheet, and with the addition of a second rectangular sheet slidably mounted in said guide elements for the side edges of the first-mentioned sheet and overlying said boss, providing for sliding of the second sheet relative to the first-mentioned sheet to expose and cover the first-mentioned sheet, selectively, with the further addition of an extension arm pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent the bottom edge thereof lar relation to said bottom edge to support said second sheet.

4. In a photographic projector of the type including a platform having a rectangular light transmitting opening therethrough as defined in claim 1, one edge of the sheet being the top edge, the guide elements for the side edges of the sheet being rails and the guide element for the bottom edge of the sheet being a boss disposed approximately midway between said guide element for the side edges of the sheet, and with the addition of a sec-. ond rectangular sheet slidably mounted in said guide elements for the side edges of the first-mentioned sheet and overlying said boss, providing for sliding of the second sheet relative to the first-mentioned sheet to expose and cover the first-mentioned sheet, selectively.

5. For use in combination with a platform having a light transmitting opening therethrough, a light at one side of said opening and a projection head at the other said of the opening, a frame for supporting and registering fiat rectangular sheets on said platform over said.

opening each of which sheets has top and bottom parallel edges and parallel side edges perpendicular to said top and bottom edges and also has a plurality of notches in one edge spaced differently from the corresponding edges that are perpendicular to said edge, said frame being rectangular and having an opening therethrough to register with said opening in the platform and a flange bordering said opening to support said sheet, said frame having guide elements each at one edge of the frame, the guide elements at two opposite edges being spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the distance between two opposite edges of the sheet, and the guide elements at the other two opposite edges of the frame being spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the distance between the other'two opposite edges of the sheet, and one of said guide elements having a plurality of lugs one for each notch of the sheet and spaced the same distance from the nearer edge of the frame as the corresponding notch is from the nearer edge of the sheet.

References ited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 250,304 11/ 1881 Vieillemard 271-58 1,288,354 12/1918 Wood. 1,976,152 10/ 1934 Thornton. 2,091,144 8/1937 Freil 352-52 2,357,593 9/1944 Leavell 88-24 X 2,726,864 12/1955 Waechter 271-59 2,793,442 5/1957 Ozga 33184.5 3,104,273 9/ 1963 Ballance. 3,165,970 1/1965 Pelletier 40158 X 3,190,174 6/1965 Field 8826 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

H. H. FLANDERS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECTOR OF THE TYPE INCLUDING A PLATFORM HAVING A RECTANGULAR LIGHT TRANSMITTING OPENING THERETHROUGH, A FRAME FOR SUPPORTING AND REGISTERING FLAT TRANSPARENT RECTANGULAR SHEETS OVER SAID OPENING, SAID FRAME BEING RECTANGULAR AND HAVING A RECTANGULAR OPENING TO REGISTER WITH SAID OPENING IN SAID PLATFORM AND BORDERED BY A FLANGE TO SUPPORT SUCH SHEETS, A PLURALITY OF SHEETS SET ON SAID FLANGE IN OVERLYING RELATION TO SAID OPENING IN THE FRAME, EACH OF WHICH SHEETS HAS TOP AND BOTTOM PARALLEL EDGES AND PARALLEL SIDE EDGES PERPENDICULAR TO SAID TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES AND ALSO HAS A PLURALITY OF NOTCHES IN ONE EDGE SPACED DIFFERENTLY FROM THE CORRESPONDING EDGES THAT ARE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID ONE EDGE SAID FRAME ALSO HAVING GUIDE ELEMENTS THEREON SPACED FROM THE EDGES OF SAID OPENING IN THE FRAME EACH TO ABUT ONE END OF SAID SHEET, ONE OF SAID GUIDE ELEMENTS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF LUGS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ALONG ONE EDGE OF THE OPENING IN THE FRAME A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID NOTCHES IN THE SHEET, EACH TO ENGAGE ONE OF SAID NOTCHES FOR REGISTERING THE SHEETS RIGHT SIDE UP WITH SAID OPENING IN THE FRAME. 